One train, three rickshaws, and two flights and I’ll be back in Boston. Hard to believe this 10-month around-the-world whirlwind of a trip is coming to a close. After a few unexpected changes/additions, the final itinerary was: US -> New Zealand -> Tonga -> Fiji -> New Zealand -> Malaysia -> India -> Tanzania -> Uganda -> Rwanda -> Tanzania -> India -> home. I made some new friends (Molly Wood, April Lynn, Ximena Rodriguez, Kanya Kanchana, Tarun Jayaram, Alex Acosta, Lauren Bieniek, Mike Celone, Matt Chesnut, John David Weems, Insiya Salam, Jax Brennan, Saam Etteiluj, Shweta Rao, no more room) and crossed paths with some old (Kathleen Brophy, Pia Marcus, Preethi Kembaiyan, Pushkar Sharma, Lauren Remedios, Keegan Delurey). I was surprised by love (Megan Sue Odenthal) and loved by surprise. I had a few close calls and a lot of very far calls. I learned more than I ever thought possible about what should/should not, can/cannot, would/would not be done about the world’s woes and I find myself left with a heavy (and possibly healthy) dose of Weltschmerz. Above and beyond all of this is a renewed and reinvigorated belief in the power and importance of human connection. Friends and family, neighbors and colleagues – I’m coming at you with all I got. Consider this a warning.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 18:47:43 +0000